Conservative candidate Trudy Harrison has vowed to help a community challenge an ‘outrageous’ decision to restrict traffic through a village, putting local services and businesses at risk.
Labour-controlled Cumbria County Council have disregarded the serious concerns raised by people living and working in Beckermet to deliberately increase congestion on the A595.
The decision was taken by the council’s Local Committee for Copeland at a meeting on Friday, February 3.
The minute states that the restrictions are part of the committee’s plan to ‘develop and implement a strategy that will help to influence and gain funding for the required major infrastructure requirements that the west area has long awaited’.
Councillor Gillian Troughton, Labour’s by-election candidate, is a member of the committee.
Dianne Irving, the landlady of The White Mare, discussed the issue with Trudy during a visit on Thursday with Pubs Minister Andrew Percy. Trudy also spoke to a couple of regulars about their concerns over the safety of diverting all incoming traffic past the village school and nursery.
Trudy said: “Labour are putting safety and businesses at risk to deliberately increase congestion on the A595. People’s safety and livelihoods should not be used as a pawn in a game over funding.
“While Labour play games, deliberately making life worse for people to prove a point, I am already acting. I have met with the Transport Secretary and pressed him for more improvements to the A595.
“My promise to local people is that instead of resorting to these outrageous tactics used by Labour, I will use my experience of saving local services to be the community champion Copeland so desperately needs."